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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29601405">Chewing Away</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/trojaex/pseuds/trojaex'>trojaex</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>OMORI (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Canon Compliant, Depression, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Oneshot, Suicide Attempt, before you say anything yes i am in therapy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 02:22:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,409</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29601405</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/trojaex/pseuds/trojaex</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Basil has always been plagued by Something.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Basil &amp; Mari (OMORI), Basil &amp; Sunny (OMORI)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>68</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Chewing Away</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi, before you start reading, please keep in mind that this is a depiction of mental illness, written by someone with mental illness. Some sentences may draw on and on, not make much sense, or repeat in a strange way. This is intentional!</p><p> </p><p>  <strong>Please read the tags, as this fic may contain content that is triggering and/or disturbing to some audiences.</strong></p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Basil was nice. Always, always so nice. He wanted to always be helping, extremely sympathetic and kind. He always took care of things. He'd never ask to borrow things, but when given anything that wasn't his, it'd always be returned in the same condition or better. If someone was afraid, Basil would step up in their place, even if he was uncomfortable with it too.<br/>
He couldn't let anyone down. Couldn't let anyone be upset. It'd hurt Basil more than it hurt others. He was always so sympathetic.<br/>
And yet, there was something in his eyes that just wasn't right. It slipped right by the others, most of the time, but it was there. Some nights, something would chew away at him, at his sanity. Something would pull him down into its depths, and Basil wouldn't even struggle.<br/>
It's a suffocating feeling. Basil hates it. It's like getting eaten alive.<br/>
Sunny, though. Sunny helped. He really <em>was</em> like the sun, to Basil, he always seemed to chase that strange feeling away. Sometimes, when Basil felt like he was losing his grip, they'd chat about something that didn't matter too much. Basil's plants were doing well, Mewo found a ladybug the other day, isn't the wind nice? Then they could sit quietly together and everything would be okay.</p><p>	Where was Sunny, today, though? He was so busy lately. Things were a bit blurrier the longer he was away. The longer he was apart from others, really. Basil had so much energy to keep going for others, but when it came to just himself….<br/>
Well, Sunny was busy, Basil should make himself busy, too!<br/>
It was time to water the plants, so he did. It felt good to take care of something. Water trickled down them and made funny little lines like tiny rivers as he poured water over them carefully. The plants seemed happy. He carried the watering can inside to the sink and turned the nozzle and held the can carefully as he watched it fill with water, oh so slowly. Not that he minded. It was quiet, outside of the sound of trickling water. Basil didn't really like being alone all that much. The watering can was full. He turned the nozzle to turn the water off and pulled the can toward his chest and stepped backwards, then carefully lowered it to his side and walked outside and closed the front door and moved to the next plants.<br/>
The ground felt like it was tilting beneath him.<br/>
But, that was okay! That was okay, Basil could handle it. It was just a strange itch in the back of his mind. He tried humming as he watered the plants, balling the fabric of his shirt in one hand at his side. The fabric was somewhat scratchy, not very pleasant to the touch, and it did nothing to help bring him out of the strange spell slowly settling on Basil. He watched water pour down from the leaves, already losing track of how whatever song he was humming went. Well, clearly it wasn't all that important, then, he shifted to the next plant and the shadows around him shifted with him.<br/>
He watched the water very carefully, focusing on every droplet as it fell. He had to make sure the plants got the right amount of water. Did something just move? Basil jerked back, turning toward an empty space and staring expectantly.<br/>
There was nothing there, but now Basil was uncomfortable, a creeping feeling of being stalked creeping down his spine. He wanted to find someone else, but he didn't want to be a burden or upset them. Aubrey was probably busy with homework, Kel and Hero were probably doing brotherly things (whatever those were), and Sunny and Mari would be practicing for their recital around now. It was just him, outside his house, with the occasional car passing, alone outside his house with the plants to keep him company, all alone with the plants and whatever was creeping around today, all alone except for the distant and cold car that just passed on the street and his plants.<br/>
Basil lowered the watering can and gave his own cheek a little pat, then sighed. What was he doing, anyway? It felt like it'd start raining, not because it was cloudy, but because the sun overhead felt so cold. That wasn't his sun. This wasn't the sky he wanted.<br/>
How long had it been since he talked to the others, anyway?</p><p>Would everyone be okay if he wasn't around? Of course they would. Everyone else was so perfect, so much more than he was. They were all so good. He fixed his stack of photos without looking through them. He didn't really deserve to look through them right now. Something else was definitely with him now, trying to drag him in. There was some distant noise like clanging. Was something coming for him? Was this it?<br/>
He made a loop. He didn't want to be eaten away anymore. Everything was fuzzy and distant and bad, and at the same time everything was sharp and near and bad. Loop, loop, tighter. Tighter. He couldn't breathe and he couldn't feel his fingers. Something pressed against his chest, jagged teeth ready to bite down. Something was coming for him. He wasn't even done yet. He pushed a chair, wincing as it scraped noisily against the ground. Something made a distorted sound, like words without meaning. The chair felt smooth, even when he couldn't feel. Basil wiped tears from his eyes. Why was he upset? He wasn't sure right now. He just had to get the feeling out.<br/>
Basil was choking, and then the world became much too bright and loud and he felt something wrapping around him. He fought and struggled as much as he could, but he was weak. He was so weak, crying in gasps, begging something to stop.</p><p>Basil blinked. He sat in the middle of his bed, and Mari sat at the foot of it. A cut rope was between the two of them. His neck hurt. There were hands on his hands.<br/>
Mari looked at him expectantly, and Basil just stared.<br/>
"Everything is going to be okay," she repeated softly.<br/>
"...Yeah. Everything is- is going to be okay," Basil mumbled back. His voice was much too small and weak, nervous when there was nothing to be nervous about. There was concern in Mari's eyes, but she mustered up a weak smile. Basil felt guilt, in that moment, and it welled up in his eyes and spilled down his cheeks. His voice came out less confident than he felt, somehow. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry- please don't tell a-anyone- They'll-" His heart ran cold with fear. What would the others do if they knew he was like this? What would they do if they learned he was so broken? That there was something inside him trying to tear him in half? Would they leave him? He didn't want to be alone.<br/>
"Basil…" Mari sighed, and then she held her arm out. Basil let himself fall into her arms, shaking and crying. He was a broken, imperfect mess. He didn't want to be. He didn't know why he was. He couldn't hear what she said next over his own sobs.</p><p>The days blurred together somewhat, but that was alright. He was doing a little better, and he was staying at Mari and Sunny's house more nowadays. It was a nicer atmosphere than being near alone at his house, with only his grandmother, sometimes. He gently cleaned his camera. He could feel the strange feeling slipping into the edges of his vision. But, it was okay this time. This time, he carefully put the camera down and got up from the couch he was sitting on. This time, he'd just go and stay by Mari, or Sunny. Maybe he could go encourage Sunny, that would probably help. He was waiting for Sunny, anyway, maybe he could just… wait… closer? Would that be alright? Would he get pushed away? No, most likely not, Sunny wasn't that kind of person. Sunny was so kind.<br/>
Basil flinched when there was a loud sound, and slowly walked toward the doorway he had been planning to go to anyways to anxiously peer out. It was as if something had cracked or snapped, like the sound of teeth breaking bone.<br/>
Was that Sunny's violin on the ground?</p>
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